Similarities Between Adichie's "Tomorrow is too Far" and "The Thing Around Your Neck"

Being able to hear Adichie’s voice has significantly shaped how I read her stories. While I am reading, I hear her telling the story and it has definitely enriched my experience. I enjoy her stories possibly the most out of any that we have read. I think she has a very different way of telling them and I like to find stories that deviate from traditional methods of storytelling.

I found many similarities in the stories, but the one that particularly stood out to me was the second person point of view she uses in “Tomorrow is too Far” and “The Thing Around Your Neck.” While it is true that both stories deal with complicated family dynamics, it is also true that both stories are able to draw the reader in better than any of her other stories (in my opinion). This style immediately inserted me into the story and made me feel as if I was a character. I find this method of storytelling interesting because I always feel as if there is something that I am trying to figure out towards the end of the story. The revelations that occur happen as if they are happening to the reader in real time. This is very effective in evoking emotions in the reader. For example, Nonzo’s death in “Tomorrow is too Far” allowed for multiple things to be revealed about the characters because of the second person narrative. I never knew what was going to happen next while reading.

While these stories may have stood out to me, I think that all of Adichie’s works are great in their own right.